The Alpha and His Irresistible Mate

The Rejection..?

Jack avoided Mr. Whyte for the remainder of the day, waiting for the first bell go off before leaving the infirmary.  Thankfully, none of his classes today were with him so it was an easy thing to do.  Particularly when he could smell him no matter where he was in the building.

He would wait until after school and find him in his office, Jack decided.

Rejecting a mate was considered a very grave decision and was rarely ever done.  Once the mate bond was severed, the two mates would have to live without a mate for the rest of their days.  Though some thought this a terrible state to be in, Jack did not.  He had never wanted a mate, never expected a mate, and certainly didn’t want a small male human as one.  It was simply logical to reject his mate and live free from the worry of it all.

His grandfather… Jack stopped in the hallway.  His grandfather wouldn’t like the idea of Jack rejecting his mate, true.  But …maybe he didn’t need to know.  Eventually, Grandfather would have to accept that Jack's mate could not be found.  Jack nodded to himself.  That would be for the best.  He didn’t like deceiving his grandfather in this way, but it would hurt him the least, Jack thought.

[More like it would hurt you the least,] grumbled his wolf in disgust. [Except it will hurt you, more than you could know.]

Jack stopped listening to his wolf.

After class, with much dread, Jack headed towards the hallway to the teachers' offices.  When he reached the door of Mr. Whyte’s office, he paused out of sight and shakily breathed in deep—which he realized immediately was a mistake.  Apple cinnamon and so much more clouded his mind and Jack fought being entranced by the scent, but his body started moving toward the source before he even realized he’d made a step.

Inside the office, everything was neatly organized, and Mr. Whyte was facing away from the door looking down at some papers in his hands, the sun softly shining through the window on him in his white, collared shirt, giving him a golden glow.  Jack couldn't help but think what a beautiful picture his mate made, before grimacing at himself. How ridiculous.

Mr. Whyte seemed to realize he was being observed and looked up from his papers, turning around.  Upon seeing Jack, he set his papers on his desk and folded his arms in front of him.  You could tell he was at ease in his office as he leaned back against his desk, looking up at Jack with his usual stony expression.  He had black, slightly curly short hair, hazel eyes behind glasses and pale skin.  And pink lips, Jack noticed, gazing at them now.  He jerked his eyes up to meet his teacher’s when he realized what he was doing.

“Mr. Lunar,” Mr. Whyte said curtly, “Thanks to Nurse Matthews I learned of your ailment and, had you asked to leave the room, I would have given you leave.  But leaving the room without requesting it first is not behaviour I would like repeated.” He paused, expecting a response.

“Of course,” Jack nodded, accepting the reprimand, “I apologize for the disruption. I’d been caught unawares...by the migraine.”

Though giving the expected response, in fact Jack barely knew what he was saying.  He was being drawn in by Mr. Whyte's scent, and his closeness in the small room, and the way his shirt was stretching so fetchingly across his slender chest and shoulders.  With his small frame and pale face, he seemed quite delicate, Jack could see now.  Jack’s eyes rested on Mr. Whyte’s exposed white neck, where he was to place his mark.  He could see his pulse, hear his speeding heartbeat, even smell the mint gum in his pink mouth. I wonder what his mouth would feel--

“Good, I appreciate you coming to clear it up,” his mate said and Jack's eyes darted away from that mouth again. "If there was nothing else, I'll see you tomorrow morning, Mr. Lunar." And the teacher turned back to his desk.

“Jack,” Jack said out loud.

Mr. Whyte’s eyebrow rose as he turned back. “Excuse me?”

“Ummm, I mean, you can call me "Jack."  What’s your name?” Jack rushed out.

He needed to know Mr. Whyte’s full name if he was to reject him, he reasoned silently, but heat still rose to his cheeks at the question.

Mr. Whyte stared at him, expressionless, for a moment before answering firmly, "I think it's best we stick to 'Mr. Whyte'. This is a professional setting, as you are aware. Now if you have no serious questions, Mr. Lunar, please have a good rest of your day and kindly leave my office.”

Mr. Whyte turned away again and quite decisively picked up his papers and began ignoring Jack, his back once more to him and the door.  Clearly, he expected Jack to leave at his dismissal.

Jack narrowed his eyes.  This was regular Mr. Whyte behaviour, stony, a bit stand-offish, "professional", something Jack had never really minded one way or another, as he paid little attention to the nuances of the teachers, and Mr. Whyte treated every student in the same manner.  But seeing his mate ignore him, seemingly unaffected by their bond while he was tongue-tied and foolish, really irked him.  With his mate's small frame and delicate features, why, he was like a haughty princess looking down on a peasant.

Snow White. The name popped into Jack's head. It fit.

Yes, this Snow White didn't realize that this peasant was actually hunter set on murder.  What would he think if Jack were to press suddenly against him and the desk, pull down that white collar and sink his teeth into that smooth neck, making him scre---

Jack hurriedly backed away from Mr. Whyte, turned and sped down the hall.  He fled into the boy’s washroom, which was thankfully close, slammed into a stall, locked the door and leaned against it.  With dread and disbelief he looked down at himself and then groaned, knocking his head back against the door.  Unbelievable.  He had gone mad.  His stupid wolf laughing in the back of his mind proved it.  Jackson Lunar, the man who had it all, future Alpha of the Eclipsed Moon Pack, wanted by most every girl in the pack, was panting and hard with desire for a small human male teacher.

[I see you didn’t reject our mate.]

Shut the f*** up.

                                                                                            ---

After calming his ridiculous—had he used ridiculous too often?—body, Jack headed home to the pack house, which was in walking distance for a werewolf.  Not that he didn’t have a truck sat in the school parking lot, but he really needed the air that day.

While he was walking, he was thinking, Why doesn’t my mate have a reaction to me?  Maybe it is a mistake. He was excited and yet disappointed—disappointed? Shut up, mate bond!

But then... maybe humans didn’t have the same reaction to their mates as werewolves did.  Which was grossly unfair, really.  He wanted Snow White—he’d accepted his new nickname for his mate—to feel this unbearable attraction, wanted him to have this unbearable need to hold, to kiss—

Jack stopped himself again.

Well, there was one person he knew who could possibly answer his questions.

On the land of his pack house, Jack stopped in front of the little hospital house created for the werewolves of his family and pack.  Inside he knew was Dr. Henry Stephens, a human who recently joined the pack when he became mate to the third in command, Jack’s aunt Amelia Lunar, two years prior.

Now Amelia Stephens, his aunt was an incredibly strong, stern woman who took care of training new wolves and acting as ambassador between the packs.  She rightly struck fear and awe in most everyone around her and could chill you to the bone with one look.  Except when she was around the Doctor, that is.

Being human, Dr. Stephens surely knew what a human felt when first faced with his mate, Jack reasoned.

He stared at the closed door.

But... he really, really did not want to tell this particular doctor about his mate.  He had come to learn that the Doctor had a sadist streak a mile long, and Jack knew this human would hold this over his head for the rest of his life.

Though Jack had to admit that he might deserve it.  When they first met, Jack of 16 had not been very receiving of humans into the pack, particularly one that was so weak in comparison to his aunt Amelia.  How could he possibly be of any use?  He was surely a threat to their livelihood.

But Dr. Stephens had proven him wrong, turning out to be one of the best surgeons in the province.  He saved countless werewolf lives during the terrible war two years prior with the Blood Moon pack.

“What are you doing, young Jack?”

Jack jumped and spun around.  He’d been so deep in thought that he hadn’t been aware of his aunt Amelia coming up behind him.

“Really, Jack?” Amelia raised one eyebrow. “You must always be prepared for the next attack.  Don’t ever let the clouds above your head keep your feet from touching the ground.”  Amelia liked random metaphors, an odd quirk of hers.

“Yes, right, my bad.  I’ll be more aware.” Jack agreed, embarrassed.  “What are you doing here?”

Amelia stared at Jack.  “I'm here to see my husband. You?”

Jack felt quite stupid. “Right, well, actually, I was just passing along. Umm, later, see you at dinner.” He hurried off without a backwards glance, flushing red.  What was with him today? Seriously!

[Yeah, I know. You're pretty dumb.]

Uuggghhh.